


Better Safe Than Sorry

by KimchilovingGenie



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AU, F/M, Multi, Slow Burn, Swearing, This is my own au and I have no idea what to call it, This isn't underfell though, Underfell Sans (Undertale), mystery?, no time shenanigans, tags are the bane of my existence and I will never stop complaining about them, well it's an attempt at
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2020-06-03 14:17:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19465726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KimchilovingGenie/pseuds/KimchilovingGenie
Summary: In a world where monsters are seen as nothing more than lifeless servants or pets Frisk is one of the only to not own one. But after the death of her husband the authorities leave her with no choice. Under the mask of it being a safety precaution she is assigned s-1, a humanoid monster with a oval-eyed mask and skeleton like hands. At first she saw it as a honest gesture of good will but after finding her husbands notes she starts to suspect that there is more to the monster than she first thought. Frisk's life takes a turn to the worst as she tries to deal with the loss of her husband, his uncaught murderer and the strange creature that was shoved into her life.





	1. What Always Kills The Protagonist

**Author's Note:**

> So this is an AU that I made where humans don't really realize that monsters are living beings and view them as tools. There are different "models" for different things. For example, some monsters are made to stand in store windows as manikins and others act like bodyguards. Mount Ebott Corp. has a full monopoly over monster sales but the company is strongly connected to the government. Monsters wear collars that prevent them from talking and activating their magic unless given permission by the owner. They also wear masks that cover their faces and the shape of the mask's eyes is determined by what "model" the monster is. More of the AU is revealed through the story. (well, I hope that's what will happen)

The silence of midnight was broken by the sound of ragged breathing and running feet. A figure ran down Main Street, hopefully looking up at the apartment windows surrounding him. Maybe someone would hear him and save him from this nightmare? Or maybe he should just try waking up again?

Carell Pierce begged whichever great deity was listening that what was happening to him wasn’t real. The thought of something like this happening in Ebott City was plainly ridiculous. This place was the safest city in the whole country! This place barely even had a crime rate!

All of his thoughts were swept away when he saw an entrance to a small alleyway. His pursuer didn’t seem to be anywhere near him, he couldn’t hear anyone else’s footsteps but his. This was his chance. As inconceivable as this situation was, it was always better to be safe than sorry.

The man slid into the narrow space between the two apartment buildings. The alley wasn’t very spacious, but that only increased the chances of his hiding spot being overlooked. Although no matter how good this spot was, Carell wasn’t ready to relax. Better safe than sorry.

Minutes ticked by and the tension started to leak out of the young man. But his heart was still going at a speed of about a hundred beats per second. The dumb organ—and essential muscle for his survival—didn’t seem to want to calm down. As if his heart was feeling some sort of danger…That was ridiculous though! He must have spent too much time reading about the soul theory at the library.

Digging around in his pockets to calm his fidgeting hands, Carell felt the leather sides of his wallet under his hand. Almost on instinct he took it out and opened the thin little wallet, a gift from someone very special. His heart seemed to calm down as the man looked at the small photo tucked in with his Student Pass. The sight of his beautiful wife could make anyone’s heart melt.

Her dark brown hair was cut into a short bob and looked perfect with the red flower tucked in behind her ear. Golden eyes, small smile, button nose, and round face. He still couldn’t believe that he was her husband.

The unnoticeable and shy Carell Pierce, a tall, scrawny, unshaven man with no sense of fashion, was married to the most confident and perfect girl in the school. He couldn’t wait to see her even though it’s only been an hour since he looked into her golden eyes. Taking a deep breath, he sighed and looked out onto Main Street. No one had run past. Who would have thought that it would have been so easy to lose his pursuer?

He took another look at the photograph. She was probably worried about him, he should’ve never went to the library this late at night. “Whatever did I do to deserve y-y-o-o-u…” A small droplet of a dark liquid dropped onto the captured memory. There also seemed to be a pool of this same liquid forming below him. He brought up two shaking fingers—why were they shaking?—to his lip. He looked at the liquid closely and the realization finally hit him.

All the pain came rushing in and he would have screamed but, luckily for him, the pain was short-lived. Still clutching onto his wallet, Carell Pierce collapsed.

The only living creatures who bore witness to his last breath were a tabby cat hidden in one of the tipped over garbage bins and a human who stood over their victim. These two were also the only ones who heard the sound of a sharp knife being pulled out of flesh. They were also the only creatures that knew who the murder was. Although it was very unlikely that either would let anyone in on that secret.

“Sorry Mr Pierce, we simply couldn’t let you persevere.” The person’s tone was…unsettling. Even the tabby cat that was the other witness decided to slip away from the scene. Emotionless, with no sign of remorse. At least Carell didn’t have to hear that voice. His final thoughts were of his beloved wife. Dying happy, dooming his loved one.

“Maybe,” The killer looked down at the man’s hand and wringing the photo out of his hand. “We should pay Mrs Pierce a visit.”

  
A chill ran down Frisk’s spine as she sat at her dining table, waiting for her husband to come home. She had always told him that he spent too much time at that place. She understood his love for books but visiting the place in the middle of the night was going overboard. Leaving the house in the middle of the night was what always got the protagonist killed.


	2. What Happens During Sleepless Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sleep deprived Frisk has another sleepless night.

He stood before her, his raven black hair a mess and his bearded face smiling. The empty feeling in her chest disappeared as she rushed towards him. They told her that he was dead, but he was standing there, leaning against the door frame, like he always did after a day of work. It had all been some kind of sick prank.

Frisk was crying and she almost knocked the man over as she ran into his arms. Wrapping hers around him, she looked up at his face. She was about to tell him just how much she missed him when he whispered something. The sound reminded her of that time they went to the forest and the wind shook the branches.

He repeated himself. She still couldn’t hear him. Or at least she didn’t think she could. Carell was about to whisper something again when his smile was replaced with a worried frown. And this time when he opened his mouth she could hear the words that came out.

_“Wake up,”_ The look on his face was stern, but his words confused her. What did he mean by wake up-

**“Maybe we should pay Mrs Pierce a visit”**

  
The position in which Frisk woke up in was a very awkward one. Her arms were wrapped around her crumpled up blanket and her pyjama was soaked through with sweat. There was also the familiar feeling of tears rolling down her face which only grew more noticeable as Frisk realized that her husband coming back was just a dream. As she realized that she was alone in their bed, that just like last time, his smiling face was nothing more than an illusion created by her mind.

A chill went through her as she remembered how the dream had ended. The cold, emotionless voice that sounded like it belonged to someone who wasn’t living. The voice's suggestion to pay her a visit echoed in her mind. If she remembered correctly she was the only Mrs Pierce living in the city.

Frisk looked over at her clock. Three thirty-six in the morning, maybe she should buy some sleeping pills. There was no way that she could fall asleep again, she would have to live another day on only four hours of sleep. Maybe she should go see a therapist instead of buying pills? She didn’t really know, but it was clear that she had to take action. No matter how much she just wanted to curl up on herself, she had to stay determined. What would have Carell said if he saw her like this?

More tears dropped down onto Frisk's pyjama. Carell would have told her to look at him and once she would gaze up at his mesmerizing dark, almost purple eyes, he would have kissed her and told her that she could do it. He always told her that she could do anything, he said that she would always be able to persevere. When he proposed he even said that when he was around her he felt like he could always persevere and stay determined. Absentmindedly, Frisk touched the ring. She could feel the two halves of the heart.

The day after his proposal, she had asked him what the stones were and why he chose them. She had been curious since the moment she stopped hugging and kissing him and crying “yes.” His expression had radiated pure joy as he had explained.

The purple half of the heart was made from a violet purple sapphire. It was purple since, according to a book on feudal believes, purple was the colour of perseverance. She had thought it had been a perfect choice.

The other half other heart was made from red andesine-labradorite, he had laughed when she joked about the name sounding like something straight out of a list of celebrities. The reason behind that choice was that, like purple, red had a meaning according to that history book. Red was a colour of determination, but he had also said that the red stone often showed hints of other colours. The blush still crept on to her face as she recalled how he had said that the stones many colours were just like her many good traits. But the sweetest thing he said that day had nothing to do with the stones. The ring itself was made out of silver. His exact words were:  
  
_“Silver is a metal that is said to purify. So now that it’s a part of this ring no matter what we face our love will remain pure. No matter what doubts, troubles or disagreements our relationship will never be built on impurities and lies.”_

Everything about the ring was so thought through that she couldn’t even get mad at him for going overboard. Well, now she knew why he had spent the better part of the summer hunched over his work desk. Even his teacher was speechless when he had shown him the ring. Their engagement had brought only good luck and their marriage just made things even better.

As the young woman sat up in her bed the first thing she did was put on the necklace that held her wedding ring. Barely stopping herself from remembering the wedding she stood up and headed toward the stairs that led to the first floor of their house. She’d had enough memories of better times for today, she didn’t want to end up a sobbing mess like she had yesterday.

Once she was on ground level, she headed to the kitchen. There, on a counter near the sink, stood her saviour. She started the coffee brewer and took a seat at the table. If she wasn’t so tired and worn out she would have regretted that decision. The empty chair in front of her didn’t help only brought her thoughts full circle. Maybe she should get a cat or dog, it would make a good distraction. Maybe that would help her get rid of the constant ache in her chest that just wouldn’t go away. A constant reminder of her broken heart.

A look at the coffee pot revealed that it was now full. For how long had she been sitting there and just staring at the damned empty chair? Yeah, a therapist was starting to sound like a very good idea.

Her mug was tactically placed right next to the coffee brewer. It had been an easy deduction where they should put their cups. Both of them were coffee addicts and Frisk would probably never stop being one.

Carefully sipping the coffee Frisk moved into the living room. The windows were dark since the sun wouldn’t be up for another three hours. Well, she would just have to wait for the day to begin. The couch was perfect when it came to living through sleepless nights. Frisk was used to staring out of the big window of her living room until sunrise. It was like he had been the one condition that had to be met if she wanted to sleep. It felt like she would never be able to sleep with him gone.

Accepting her fate of having to spend three hours just sipping her coffee and staring out the window, Frisk focused on the silhouette of the tree that grew in her front yard. During the day it always amazed her, it’s serenity was almost otherworldly and the whitebark made it look like something out of a fairytale. But there was something odd about the silhouette this time. She would have spent hours pondering about what was off if the anomaly hadn’t revealed itself.

A figure walked out from behind the tree making, giving her a heart attack. The person's movements were smooth but so…unexpressive. There was no personality to the way the figure moved and this made the memory of the chilling voice resurface.

As if to look at her the figure turned. Frisk could feel the person’s eyes on her. There was no way in hell she was going to let the figure out of her sight. No matter panicked and confused she was.

_**“Maybe we should pay Mrs Pierce a visit.”** _Fear ran through Frisk’s body. Could this be—No, that was impossible and ridiculous. This was just a coincidence, nothing more than a coincidence.

Feverishly, Frisk tried to remember if all her windows and doors were locked. Maybe she should try making a dash for the phone? Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Even if this person was dangerous, which was unlikely since Ebott City was a very, very safe place, it would take longer for them to get inside then for her to dial the police.

Carefully placing her cup onto the counter, Frisk got ready to jump up from the couch and make a run for it. She pushed herself over the couch's armrest and ran into the kitchen. But before the window was out of her view, she looked over her shoulder. It was something she did on instinct, but she wished she never did.

Gone. The figure was gone. And as she stopped her mad dash to the kitchen, her mind started making up different reasons for its disappearance. Could they have snuck up to the house without her noticing? Maybe she scared them away? But what if the figure was never there in the first place? What if her sleep-deprived mind just made up the figure? Like an afterimage of her dream. Then, if that were the case, was it a good idea to call the police?

With a confused and terrified mind, Frisk marched back up to her room and decided to stay there for the rest of the night. But she didn’t have to wait for too long, her run-in with the mysterious figure was longer than she thought. That almost convinced her that it really was a dream. Almost.

As beams of light crept into her room, she made up her mind. Once people started to walk the streets, she would go to the spot where the figure stood and investigate. If she didn’t, her mind would torture until she did.

  
The first thing Frisk did that morning was open the door to the chief constable who wouldn’t stop knocking until she did. The thought of telling him what happened flashed through her mind, but the chance of it being nothing more than a dream convinced her not to. And even if it hadn't the policeman gave her a chance to speak.

“Sorry to disturb you ma’am, but we have been notified that you don’t own a monster. So, as a safety precaution, we have decided to gift you one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm paranoid so let me explain some of the some things.
> 
> Carell was training to be a jeweler and made the ring himself. I added that in because I though it was really sweet...Also, I don't drink coffee so I have no idea how coffee brewing machines work and didn't feel like searching it up. So if a keep warm function doesn't exist than I'm just an lazy idiot. Anyways, have a good day/night!


	3. What Makes Stylized Text Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had rewritten this chapter so many times and it still feels weird...

Blank. Frisk's mind had to reboot itself to truly understand what was going on. It then also had to run an update to find a way to deal with the situation. After all, only the most analytical people could ever know what to do when the Chief Constable shows up at your door at seven in the morning stating that the police force is gifting you a monster as a safety precaution. Frisk was not an analytical person.

By the time she finally gathered all of her panicked, confused and anxious thoughts together, the policeman was already in her house. Trailing behind him was something that she really didn’t need in her life.

The monster was taller than her, but not by much. She could see skeletal hands and a bare skull and the sight sent shivers through her. Why did it have to be a skeleton model? It was still wearing the standard uniform of Ebott Corp. monsters, plain black pants and a black zip-up jacket with a yellow metal zipper—plastic is too low quality for Ebott Corp.

Frisk was about to read the model number and version code, but the thing passed her before she could. The Constable was already in her kitchen and she would have kicked him out for barging in if he hadn’t been her good friend for the last three years.

Working as a lawyer had a lot of pros and cons. Just like how the job got you a lot of enemies and friends. Chief Constable Hods had been one of those friends. Although he was one of the few who stuck. No matter how rude he could be at times, Hods was a good man. So no matter how irritated Frisk was, she couldn’t kick him out.

“Constable Hods, please stop pillaging my poor fridge and explain to me why you came here, at seven in the morning, with a monster.” Letting just a bit of her annoyance creep into her voice, Frisk got the copper’s attention and saved her fridge from being emptied.

“Ah, yes! As you know, we haven’t apprehended the murderer yet. You are the—”

“The only civilian that knows about this!!” This time Frisk didn’t hold back. Every word was dripping with irritation. She still couldn’t believe that they had done that. The logic behind the action was understandable but still, wasn’t it unfair to hide the truth from the public?

“Yes,…we are sorry about the inconvenience. It was just that having every newspaper yelling about a murderer free in Ebott City would cause unwanted panic and stress. Lying about the criminal being caught and charged was a necessity in this case.” Guilt slowly wormed its way into her mind as she started to realize that she had snapped on someone that hadn’t done anything wrong. Well, except barging in without permission and robbing her of a cheese stick.

“Now Mrs Pierce, Frisk, a point was brought up that the culprit might try to hurt you because you know the truth. If the police are the only ones that know then it could benefit the murderer and help them get away.” A chill run down Frisk spine, but she couldn’t find a reason for it. “At first we thought that you would be safe since even square-eyed monsters are made with an automatic function to protect its owner. But then we realized that you didn’t have one. So the police force had decided to give you a monster that was designed to protect! It used to stand in the interrogation room, but now it just seems like a waste of space.”

“Wait, I can’t own a monster that was issued to the police! That’s city property!”

“Oh, who cares? S-1 just takes up space at the station. It’s kind of useless and only has three commands. Don’t get me wrong, it's perfect for protecting a home or acting as a bodyguard, but not really that helpful out in the field.”

The officer glanced down at his watch and sighed. Frisk was about to protest, again, but he cut her off, again.

“I would stay longer and explain everything to you, but duty calls. Here are the instructions for him,” He took a small booklet out of his pant pocket and placed it on the kitchen table. “Stay safe, Frisk.”

Before she could even bid him goodbye he was out the door. This whole encounter--sudden, abrupt and terrifyingly quick encounter--left Frisk’s thoughts a mess. A mix of memories from the last time a monster was in the house, fears from her dream and profanities filled her mind. A headache was inevitable.

The unsettling feeling of being watched brought her attention back to the monster that stood beside her kitchen counter. Blood red lights shined in the dark ovals of its mask. Even though there was no way to tell, Frisk swore that the two red dots were focused on her. As if the thing before her had a mind of its own.

This was why Frisk had enforced a rule that no monsters were allowed in her house. People could call her paranoid and overdramatic if they wanted, but she didn’t want to feel as if someone’s eyes were following her 24/7. Not to mention the fact that she wouldn’t even be able to use a monster. Commands are used on animals and soldiers. She didn’t feel comfortable ordering something that looked so much like a human to do her bidding. If she could do it herself, why make someone else do it?

Carefully, she approached the “safety precaution.” It didn't react in any way. But that was expected, wasn't it? The thing in front of her wasn't living, so there couldn't be any reaction.

The monsters collar caught Frisk's attention and momentarily made her forget her discomfort. A dark red box was attached to the leather strip and Frisk could see the telltale signs of a speaker dotting it. The dots were arranged in a strangely adorable design of an upside-down heart. In the middle of the box—which Frisk concluded was the place where the brain of the monster is set—was a black diamond with a turned off light. It was a surprisingly simple contraption for something that operated something so big.

Frisk also got a good look at the monster’s ID. The tag was a rectangular piece of yellow-tainted metal with the Deltarune, Ebott Corp’s symbol, serving as a background to the actual identification code. The richest corporation in the city never passed a chance to show just how high quality they were. Every bit of their product had to show it off.

Hods called the monster “S-1” so there wasn’t much point to the action of checking the code, but Frisk was surprised to find that the font in which the identifier was written in was stylized. Not only that, the single letter wasn’t even capitalized. The supposedly professional tag looked silly and casual.

“The person who was in charge of making these tags must have gotten bored.” Thinking out loud had become a habit when there was no one else in the house. “Alrighty then! S-1, welcome to my home…I guess. My name is Frisk.” It felt like she was doing something really stupid by introducing herself. But something in her just wouldn’t let her not do it. That same something made her extremely uncomfortable at the thought of constantly referring to the monster as “S-1.”

“It kind of feels weird to call you by your identifier. Why don’t I make a name for you?” Suddenly the light on his collar flicker on and started flashing red. Was there a function that allowed you to decide what name the monster would respond to? Well, if there was she was going to use it.

“Well, seeing as the font used to write your identifier was _Comic Sans_ , why don’t I call you… **Sans**?” The light kept flashing. There must be a set of phrases that would set the name. What could one of them be…

“Your name is **“Sans”** …Sans the Skeleton?” The light stopped flashing. The little bulb was now glowing the same blood red as the orbs set in the monster’s eyes.

Sans drawn with very wobbly line art! (yay!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added that drawing that I drew because I don't think I did a good job describing Sans. It isn't very showing of how he looks since I only drew his upper half. (even less than that really) (and also sorry if the image size is messed up it's 10 in the evening and i'm lazy.)
> 
> Anyways, have a good day/night!


	4. What's Just

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry about my absence and the fact that I didn't reply to any comments. I might end up not being able to post for a week or two because of events happening irl.

Chief Constable Hods walked out of Frisk’s house and let out a long sigh of relief. He had been worried about the safety of the young widow since the day he saw her husband lying pale-faced in that alleyway. But when a dead tabby cat was found at the doors of the station with a chilling note taped to the animal it was clear that the murderer wasn’t done.  
  
_The Witness is now dead,_  
 _I’ll have the Lawyer’s head._  
 _But I suggest you don’t fret,_  
 _That would be a waste of your blood and sweat._  
  
It was like something straight out of one of those non-sensical horror novels. A villain speaking in rhymes and leaving dead animals as threats. He would have laughed at the ridiculousness of the whole situation but everything was far to close to home. Frisk had helped him and his family more times than he could count. She was his friend and the thought of her ending up on the coroner’s table was one that gave him nightmares.  
  
So that was how he had found out that his lawyer friend didn’t own a monster. It came as a surprise. She knew so much about monsters, her grandfather had been one of the founders of Ebott Corp! Not to mention the fact that monsters were essential when it came to security. Every monster was programmed to react offensively if the owner’s life is threatened.

There were only three households on record that didn’t have at least one working monster. He had never realized that the Pierce household was one of those five.   
  
That bit of information was what made him hold a meeting and had brought the station to the conclusion that S-1, a monster that lost its use years ago, would be assigned to Frisk. But Hods' anxiety and guilt didn’t settle down so, he had come to personally deliver the skeleton. It had felt like he had betrayed the grieving woman in the worst way possible when he had told her about the circumstances surrounding Carell’s death. Forcing her to lie to her friends and family was so…unjust.  
  
Another sigh escaped the man as he started toward his car. He had parked it in front of Frisk's front yard, in the shade of the big tree growing on her lawn. But on his way to the car, he ended up stumbling onto something that made him pause. Hods picked up the photograph, but he didn’t realize just what it meant. Instead, he just shrugged, stuffed the photo into his pocket and made a mental note to give it back to Frisk the next time he saw her. He had a meeting at eight at the mayor’s office which was a good forty minutes away. If he stayed for any longer he would undoubtedly be late.  
  
Opening the door to the driver’s side, Hods noticed something drip onto the leather of the seat. The liquid was dark and he felt confusion spread to him as he realized that the liquid's source was…his own body. After that realization, he immediately understood that the dark liquid was his blood, seeping out of a wound almost identical to the one found on Carell’s body.  
  
_Skillful blow straight to the heart. Knows what they're doing and came prepared. Murder of two would be a sentence of life as a worker in the—_ Hods final thoughts were cut short as death claimed him.

“I’m sorry Chief Constable, but we couldn’t allow you to do what’s just this time.”  
  
  
After naming the monster Frisk just stood there. She knew what she had to do next, but she really didn’t want to do it.  
  
Monsters needed a special battery to run. They could work without one for three days, but their effectiveness would decrease with every hour. Not to mention the fact that what happened after the three days is truly traumatizing. But thankfully “Monster Batteries” lasted. The little energy-packed cylinders were plugged into a small box attached to the monster’s arm. She remembered asking her grandfather why the battery space wasn’t built in but she couldn’t recall his answer. Oh, how she **hated** that old man.  
  
The sound of skidding tires brought her attention to the leaving cop car. “He’s definitely speeding. Will that guy ever realize that just because he upholds the law doesn’t mean he can break it?” The Chief Constable often found himself in need of her assistance because he did something unlawful. Although it was always for the right reasons so she never felt in the wrong when defending the man. Not to mention that his family couldn’t afford to have him lose his job. He was a single father with two rebellious troublemakers as sons. The two boys always got in trouble and sadly he couldn’t really teach them otherwise. The officer was a busy man and often needed to hire babysitters or ask his friends for help. Just a month ago she and Carell had watched over the two imps when the officer had a late meeting. Carell had always loved and wanted kids…  
  
She needed a distraction. There was an all to familiar sting in her eyes. She NEEDED a distraction. But unfortunately, the only thing that could distract her was the monster.  
  
With an unhealthy amount of determination, Frisk stepped toward the monster. Somehow everything else after that was easy and…methodical. Of course, it was. If she had been able to replace monster batteries when she was ten then she could do it now. The only difference was that she was a naïve idiot back then. Not knowing what these things were capable of. Not knowing why they were called “Monsters.”  
  
“Alright, we’re all done, Sans. Th-Thanks for staying still.” They were drilling a hole right through her skull. Those red lights didn’t seem to settle on anything other than her. The feeling she got from the monster’s “gaze” held an uncanny resemblance to the feeling she got when the figure turned to face her—

Shit. Frisk swore in her head as she realized that she had somehow forgotten about the plan. She was supposed to investigate the area around the tree to see if she could find any proof that the figure hadn’t been something her mind made up. That it wasn’t just a continuation of her dream.

But just as she was about to head for the front door her phone rang. She had left her cellphone upstairs and rushed towards the stairway. She had set a special ringer for the police in case they found something or needed her. The simple tune of the ringer echoed through her house and filled the rooms with urgency.

Only when she was two thirds up the staircase did she realize that the monster had followed. Just two steps behind her.

_I completely forgot that this thing is set to follow me everywhere I go unless I command it to stay._ Cursing the geniuses who created the monsters, Frisk made it to the second floor and rushed into her room. She had made it before the call was directed into her voicemail.

“Hello?”

“Mrs. Pierce! Thank god you picked up, is the Chief at your house?” The voice of the detective that worked in Hods main station sounded stressed. The young lad usually had the personality of a helium balloon. Bright and over the roof happy.

“No, he left my place…fifteen minutes ago. What’s wrong?”

“We lost connection to his radio and GPS. He has a meeting with the mayor in thirty minutes and he was supposed to drop by the station to change into his formal uniform!”

“Maybe he got stuck in traffic?” Worry started to flood her senses. Hods had in a reckless mood when he left. What if that recklessness had gotten him into an accident? What if he was hurt?

“There haven’t been any reports of bad traffic or road accidents.” The detective sighed, he sounded frustrated, but there was the unmistakable note of worry in his tone. “Sorry if I bothered or interrupted something, Mrs. Pierce. I hope you have a great day!”

“You too.” Just as she gave her reply the man hung up. The sound of something hard hitting the wooden door made Frisk revert her attention back to the monster. The skeleton was standing two steps away from her and those lights still seemed to be focused on her. But as she looked at the luminous blood-red dots a feeling of dread filled her.

She knew for a fact that it wasn’t caused by the monster. The only time other she ever felt this way was when Carell didn’t come back from the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again sorry about the fact that I'll be gone for awhile and that I haven't been able to reply to your comments I'll do my best until now. I'll do my best to try and reply to comments for this chapter on time but I'm not sure. 
> 
> Anyways, have a good day/night!


	5. What Makes Counselors Scary

Snowdin Elementary had always been a sort of sanctuary for Frisk. It wasn’t only her elementary school, it was also the place where her longtime friend worked.

Children ran around her and paid no attention to the thing that had caused her so much stress. It shouldn’t surprise her, most people had lived their whole lives with monsters. Not to mention the fact that Sans was a relatively humanoid monster. There were many scarier monster types out there. Although it was the skeleton’s human-like features that made Frisk so uneasy.

Instead of entering the school as she had so many years ago, Frisk walked to the small portable at the back of the building. The small structure was the size of a single classroom, but it wasn’t used as one. The portable was the office of the school counselor, Wilfred Kins.

Wilfred, nicknamed Freddy by everyone who knew her, was the kind of friend that stayed by your side no matter what. Frisk remembered how, when that terrible **incident** happened, Freddy had nursed her back into a healthy mindset. Those were terrible times for the—at the time—law student. She owed Freddy, big time.

That was why there was a sinking feeling of guilt in her stomach as she got closer to the box-like building. Two years ago, Freddy was working as a full-time psychiatrist. She had been Dr. Kins, her _dream_ had come true. All that she could ever _hope_ for. Yet, Frisk hadn’t been able to help her. One asshole who wanted to shift the blame, one lawsuit, and the professional who had helped so many was stripped of her title. Reputation tarnished and pride hurt. Frisk had failed, but Freddy still welcomed her with opened arms.

“Freddy, can I come in?” Frisk knocked on the door, checking if maybe someone else was already taking up the counselor’s lunch hour.

“The door's unlocked, step on in.” A tired voice answered from inside. Frisk could recognize that raspy yet calm voice anywhere. Same as the face that smiled at her from across the room as she opened the door and stepped into the makeshift office. Green eyes met hers as a woman in her mid-twenties, wearing a hoodie and jeans—clothes that were defiantly not work appropriate—and with bright orange hair tied in a messy bun smiled at her warmly.

Frisk was surprised to see that the room wasn’t a total mess. Usually, there were books and toys strewn everywhere, but this time there wasn’t a single hint of a mess, even Freddy’s desk was organized and not just a pile of random multicoloured papers.

Surprised by the lack of chaos, Frisk let her eyes roam the whole room. She had the second shock of the day when a pair of blood-red pinpricks met her eyes. In a corner of the room stood a monster that dwarfed both of the women. It had a mask with oval eyes, but there seemed to be a pair of angry eyebrows drawn above the ovals in a black dry and erase marker and the monster didn’t seem to be dressed in the usual Ebott Corp. uniform. It seemed to be wearing a red scarf and…actually Frisk had no idea what the monster was wearing. Whatever it was, it didn’t make it hard to see that this monster was of the same model as Sans. Why did it **always** have to be skeletons?

“He looks an awful lot like **that** monster, huh? Although it seems like yours holds the same kind of resemblance.” There was a hint of disdain in Freddy’s voice as she remembered events that had happened so long ago.

“Yeah, it does.” It sometimes felt like all that Frisk was doing was pushing back memories nowadays.

“I think I know why you’re here so let’s not dilly-dally. Take a seat,” The ex-psychiatrist pointed to a chair in front of her desk. “And we can talk for a bit.”

As Frisk sat down she felt Sans move behind her. A shiver ran through her. It had been a week since Hods had dropped the skeleton off at her house. She was plagued with the constant feeling of someone watching her since that day and she hated it.

“So, Freddy... how’ve you been?” Starting a conversation with someone who had been your friend for more than a decade should be easy, but that wasn’t Frisk’s case. Anywhere else she would have been fine, but the portable was Freddy’s office. That meant that every single word would be analyzed and thought over. A visit to Freddy’s portable wasn’t just a drop by, it was an appointment.

“Well, the same as ever. A couple kids come in once in a while, once had to chase out a group who just came for the Wi-if. Oh, and I bet you noticed the change in atmosphere. I found this guy, Papyrus,” Freddy pointed at the tall skeleton with her thumb. “At a yard sale. If I were to give him a diagnosis it would be OCD. He cleans up every little speck of dust. Really helpful when it comes to organization and the kids love him. They've claimed him to be the GREAT AND TERRIBLE WARRIOR and even made him that get up. They call it the ‘Battle Body’”

“I’m guessing they were the ones that drew those eyebrows.” Frisk was unnerved by monsters, but Freddy was the complete opposite. She seemed okay with them and even humanized them.

“Nah, that was me.” Frisk raised an eyebrow at her friend. “Hey, I can have fun too!” After that short statement, Freddy made a pouty face and stuck her tongue out. Both of them laughed after a second of silence. Although Freddy was usually a very calm and, as some people put it, boring person Frisk knew that inside, Freddy was the class clown she had been so long ago.

“Alright, enough about me. How are you doing?” There wasn’t really an answer to that question. Frisk could never explain what she was feeling. The only thing she could do was show it in the form of averted eyes and a stony face. It was her signature habit to hide pain behind neutrality. Freddy knew that.

The counselor sighed deeply. “The murderer hasn’t been caught yet, right?”

“How did you—!” She hadn’t been expecting to hear that. How could Freddy know that!?

The counselor shrugged. “Lucky guess. You're blaming yourself for Hods’ death, aren’t you? It was an accident! You are as much at fault as me, when it comes to his **and** Carell’s death.”

“I’m not— What if it wasn’t an accident!? What if someone purposefully drove right in front of him so that he would crash!?” With no more than two statements Freddy was able to make Frisk spill out all the worries that had been tormenting her for the last week.

“Frisk, don’t focus on the “What if’s.” This is just like that **incident** , you know where that kind of thinking will lead you.” The counseler's stern voice reprimanded Frisk. She looked into the pools of green that seemed to know exactly what was going through her head. Frisk knew that Freddy was right, but at the same time, she thought that she was wrong.

“Speaking of that incident, does that skeleton of yours have a name?” The attempt at changing the subject wasn’t masked in any way. It was a way of giving Frisk an escape that she gladly took it.

“Its tag had stylized texts. It was Comic Sans, so I named it Sans.”

“Well, brilliant minds think alike 'cause that’s the exact same reasoning behind Papyrus’ name.” Freddy chuckled. “You’re doing a good job holding up, but they still make you uncomfortable, huh?”

“Well, that program that you had me do a couple months back helped me out a lot, but Sans was an unplanned addition to my home. It was assigned to me as a safety precaution since, well, you know...” Frisk’s voice trailed off as she spoke. Even though Freddy knew that the murderer wasn’t caught it felt wrong to tell her. It felt like a team of officers would pop up at any moment and arrest her for disobedience.

“And, let me guess, you are stuck with him following two steps behind you since you refuse to use commands. I never found a way to help you out with that, although I don’t blame you, I have to add please to every command or I won’t be able to sleep at night.” Although Freddy would never admit it, what had happened back then did have an effect on her. It was different from the aftermath that Frisk experienced, but it was still there.

“It’s not your fault that I can’t bring myself to use commands. It feels like if I do I’ll lower myself to HIS level, it's his fault. How about you? For the longest time, you only owned one square-eyed Whimsun model monster.”

“I… I don’t think of Papyrus as a monster. You probably noticed how I use male pronouns and sometimes it really feels like he’s sentient...” The redhead glanced at the tall skeleton standing in the corner warily.

“Oh, that reminds me!” Suddenly Freddy started digging through her drawers. Frisk swore that she saw Papyrus flinch as the counselor made a mess in the small compartment. “Aha, found it! I believe this belongs to you.” Freddy stretched her hand out to Frisk. On her palm lay a small key.

“Carell forgot this at the library.”

“Wait, did he go to the library on that day to meet up with you?” Frisk remembered what her friend had said about being at fault.

“We were both a part of this...club, but it’s complicated and my break is coming to an end.” Frisk’s question made the ex-psychiatrist fidget. Frisk yearned to ask more, but she was already taking up the counselor’s time and getting her fired was the last thing Frisk wanted to do.

“Alright, but do you by any chance know for what this key is for?” She stood up and headed to the door.

“Try his desk. I think that might be for the drawer where he kept his materials. See you later!” Freddy waved goodbye from her table and Frisk left the portable after saying her own goodbye.

A lot of things were on her mind as she walked out of the school grounds. Thoughts served as a great distraction and the constant feeling of surveillance didn’t bother her as much. She didn’t pay as much attention to the monster walking behind her. Freddy’s strange behaviour set bells of in her head and the overly curious side of her came out.

Sans followed her as she walked back to her house, eights steps behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite a mess. I really want to explain the end but that might ruin it so sorry if you didn't get it. I've been battling writer's block and originally there was a drawing of Papyrus that I wanted to add but I did a bad and lost it. I will (hopefully) post another chapter this week since I'm going to a place with no wifi next week. 
> 
> Have a good day/night.


	6. What Makes Magic Magical

Frisk avoided entering Carell’s office ever since his murder. He used to spend so much time bent over his work desk. Walking into the room and seeing him there had been a part of her everyday life. But Frisk knew that when she opened the door to his office this time, no one would be there.

Standing in front of the door, Frisk ran her fingers over the small key in her pocket. There wasn’t any guarantee that the key was from Carell’s desk. She could be doing this for nothing. This was what made her so hesitant. At this point, she didn’t know if this was worth it. Was there really a point to investigating this? She could just hand the key over to the police and tell them about the club that Freddy had mentioned.

But no, she couldn’t do that. It was obvious that the police force was planning to keep her out of the loop. They were probably planning to tell her if the culprit was caught, but other than that they weren’t planning to tell her anything. If she wanted to know the truth, she had to do it herself. As wrong and as stupid as it was, she couldn’t leave it to the police.

With the looming presence of Sans behind her she entered the room and prepared herself for the sinking feeling. But instead of that, she was greeted by the sound of crumpling paper the moment she stepped into the room. The sound surprised her so much that she didn’t even have the time to feel any of the dread settle in.

Right under her feet was an envelope, her name was written on it in Carell’s handwriting. Picking the letter up she felt Sans get closer behind her. As much as she wanted to step away, she knew that it wouldn’t change anything.

Inside the envelope was a single piece of paper. Sans moved even closer as she unfolded the letter. But Frisk didn’t notice as she read the first line written on the folded piece of paper. And following the first, she read the second and then the third. With each word, questions sprung into her mind and a tinge of betrayal entered her heart.

_Dear Frisk,_

_If you are reading this then that means that I didn’t return from the library. For someone as lucky as me, someone who was given the chance to spend all his life with you, I have been an ungrateful idiot. I have hidden so much from you thinking that it was better than burdening you with the truth. This is my letter of apology._

_I am, or was, a part of a small group of people that often met up in the library at late hours. Someone among us was is a traitor. They are most likely my murderer._

_There were six of us in total; Wilfred Kins, Norman Bravo, Emily Patten, Paloma Integra, Jackson Hods and me. I can’t tell you what could make one of us try to kill the others, but I just want you to do your best to stay away from those five people. Please stay safe Frisk._

_There is also the matter of the key. If I was suspecting that something might go wrong, I would have left it in the library. Check there, the key is for a small safe hidden under that loose board that you complained about. Burn the contents of the safe, you mustn’t get involved! If need be, give this letter to that young detective, not Hods, and then he can deal with it._

_Forever Yours,_

_Carell_

**_W A T CH O UT FO R T H E M ONS TE RS_ **

**_THE Y A R E LIST E N IN G_ **

The last two sentences were scribbled in a different pen and were practically engraved into the paper. Both of the statements sent a chill through Frisk. What did he mean by “They are listening”? Did Carell know about the true purpose of monsters?

Frisk turned around to walk out of the room but collided with Sans. The monster had stood mere centimetres away from her and was now looking down at her.

This had never happened before and Frisk was thoroughly spooked. Stepping back, she kept “eye-contact” with the skeleton and felt a shiver rattle her whole body. The feeling of eyes staring at her was stronger than ever. She had believed that it was possible to get used to the usually uncomfortable tingle that went through her any time she was near Sans, but this was on a whole new level.

_“Watch out for the monsters”_ The line echoed in her mind. “S-Sans, please let me through.” Even if she were giving a proper command the monster would never respond to it. Her voice was shakier than she had expected and sound weak. It felt like she was a little lamb, barely standing, and she hated it.

The proper command to use in this situation was “Move Away.” The command would have the monster move two meters away from you. But she couldn't use it. Even if she did what Freddy said she does, the little worm of unexplained guilt wouldn’t leave her alone. “Move Away, please” was still a command. If she used it not only would the guilt never leave her, but she would be forced to remember every time that **he** had used that command. It wasn’t worth it, nothing was.

However, the monster did step away—this made Frisk doubt its simplicity even more—but, he did it by taking a single step back. The doorway was clear and she left the room with even more questions than before. She had never remembered seeing a monster retreat.

Sitting on her bed, Frisk finally got a chance to think everything over. The skeleton that had frightened her moments ago was standing by the door to her room.

Its behaviour had been quite random. Sometimes Sans kept distance, sometimes it got unnecessarily close. But Frisk knew that this randomness wasn’t anything serious.

It was noted that sometimes monsters would do things that they weren’t commanded to. Nothing dangerous, which was a relief, but it annoyed many people. Ebott Corp. had a recalibration station set up in every mall and public park for this exact reason. Frisk would have taken the skeleton there, but she didn’t see that as a top priority.

Her top priority at the moment was making a plan of action. The contents of Carell’s letter revealed that she might have the murderer’s name. If she handed it to the police than the culprit would be undoubtedly caught. Yet, the thought of one of the five people listed being a killer was…repulsive!

It couldn’t be Hods, the letter opened up a whole new can of worms regarding his death that she tried not to focus on. Norman Bravo and Paloma Integra were a sweet couple that owned a small bookstore. Mr. Bravo was a very admirable person that was always ready to stand up for others, she had met him when he had saved her from a mugging six years ago. Mrs. Integra was always such an honest person, she just couldn’t see the woman as someone who could do anyone harm. Emily Patten had been Frisk’s classmate and was always a very patient person. She would never be involved in conflicts and was just someone who wanted to be left alone. Freddy was just too kind. She was the one who had introduced Frisk to Carell. She was a friend to both of them, she couldn’t have possibly—

_“You are as much at fault as me when it comes for his and Carrel’s death”_ Freddy’s words replayed themselves in Frisk's mind. Could...there be more depth to that statement? Well, it didn’t matter. If she handed in the letter the police they would resolve everything. 

Yet, what would happen if each one of these people got taken in for questioning? Eyebrows would be raised and even if the police tried to hide it, higher-ups might hear about the ordeal. It could have a devastating effect on the lives of completely innocent people.

The memory of the day when Freddy had been stripped of her title of doctor popped into Frisk’s mind. She would never forget the expression that had been on her friend's face. The face of someone who had lost all faith in those around them.

Maybe it was a good idea to first find that safe the letter talked about. She had the key and she did remember there being a loose board that always creaked at night in their—her—room. It was somewhere near her side of the bed.

Standing up she kept an eye on the monster in her doorway. It moved when she did but didn’t get as close as it had when she had been in Carell’s office. Although no matter how far away the thing still creeped her out.

Frisk moved to the spot where she remembered the board. She was ready for an annoyingly long search for the hidden safe but was surprised when a creaking sound came from behind her. Turning around, she saw Sans standing and looking down at the floor. He couldn’t have-

Warily, she stepped toward the monster, it backed away and Frisk could see that the plank that Sans had stood on seemed to be marked. There was a small scratch in the middle of the plank that didn’t look accidental. Walking over to the plank, she realized that even if this was what she was looking for she didn’t have any means of lifting the board.

“Well, that was a lucky coincidence. Thanks, Sans. I guess…” The monster was standing over her. The constant feeling of surveillance was ever-present. “You wouldn’t know how to lift this plank… What the hell am I doing?” Frisk let out a small laugh at her on expense. Sans’ reaction to her plea for personal space didn’t mean that the monster could react to something like that. Monsters are tools set to follow commands, few can actually decipher more complex sentences. For all, she knew its reaction had been nothing more than a bug in the system acting up at a convenient time.

Frisk's line of thought was interrupted when the skeleton did something that she hadn’t seen a monster do in ages. A large bone with a sharpened edge appeared in its hands. Very few monsters could use magic. That was the specialty of oval and diamond-eyed monsters. Offence and defence that if used to the fullest would be terrifying to anyone. Seeing the monster summon the bone shocked Frisk into silence.

_Please no! Not like this!_ Frisk would have run out of the room, but instead, she froze like a deer in headlights. Sans kneeled down and quickly removed the plank by using the sharp end of the bone to pick between the cervices in the floor and then pushing down on the other end. The bone then dissipated and the skeleton stood up. The red-lights were once more focused on her.

Through her panic-filled mind, Frisk realized that Sans had actually answered her question and helped her. But the display of magic brought her back to the last time she saw a monster use it. She was terrified.

“Th-th-thanks?” She felt herself shaking but tried her best to not focus on what just happened. The space hidden under the removed plank served as a great distraction.

Stored inside was a small safe, which was really just a metal box with a keyhole. It wasn’t too big and she remembered Carell’s letter saying that she should burn the contents. This meant that the safe probably held papers or documents of some sort. Her growing curiosity was slowly pushing the fear out of her thoughts.

Carefully, Frisk took the box out and placed it on the floor beside the hole made by the missing board. Sitting cross-legged on the cold hardwood, she dug the key out of her pocket. She hesitated to open the safe for just a moment, there was something wrong in nature about opening the safe of a deadman. Yet, something in her didn’t let her back down.

Inside the small safe was a notebook. Frisk remembered giving Carell the leather-bound book on their first anniversary. He used to carry that thing everywhere. Why would he wanted her to burn it?

She was about to investigate further by opening the book when a loud knocking echoed through the house. The sound was then followed by the ringing of the doorbell. Then more knocking. Whoever was at the door was the impatient sort.

Frisk got up from the floor and hid the notebook under her bed. She could read through it later, it was wrong to keep the person at the door waiting, no matter how rude they were being.

The ringing and knocking continued and Frisk quickly walked out of her room. A shiver went through her as she passed Sans, but the assault on her door pushed her to ignore the feeling. It was harder to ignore the fact that the monster was now walking just a step behind her. It was worrying, but not as worrying as the way the knocking seemed to become more and more desperate with each passing moment.

She was turning the doorknob to finally let the either very demanding or very desperate person in. But before she could do that the pattern was broken. A sudden silence filled the house and made Frisk pause. It forced her to proceed with caution.

Slowly she pried the door open and peeked out. There was no one at her door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a tad bit rushed but I finally got the part about Frisk finding Carell's notes into the story. It's weird to have a summary that's ahead of the actual chapters. It was hard to end this one since I was in the middle of making up mind on if I wanted there to be no one behind the door when Frisk opened it or if I wanted to have another murder happen. 
> 
> Well anyways, have a good day/night!


	7. What Sleep Deprivation Does

It was a classic prank. Run up to the door, knock or ring the bell and then run away. It was really a harmless prank. So, unless the neighbourhood kids ate a kilogram of candy, this was not a prank.

Frisk had opened the door fully when she had found no one on the other side. It was truly puzzling. When the knocking had stopped, she had only paused for a second. A second was not enough time for someone to run away and find a hiding spot. Yet, there was no one around. No cars, no passersby, no one.

It was an oddly still evening. And there was something very terrifying about that. The realization that there was no one around made Frisk wary. She could feel that something was very wrong, that something was amiss, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was. A feeling that reminded her of the night she had seen the figure by the tree.

Unnerved and uncomfortable, creeped out by her own thoughts, Frisk closed the door. The day was turning out to be one of the worst since Carell’s passing. Finding out that your husband had been a part of some weird club and being scared halfdead by your government assigned monster were the ingredients of a bad day for Frisk. Not to mention the realization that your friends' accidental death might have not been so accidental. As hard as she tried not to think about it, Frisk just couldn’t keep that thought out of her head.

Stepping away from the door, Frisk turned around and found Sans standing in front of her. The monster wasn’t watching her, it wasn’t even facing her. For the first time, its stare wasn’t directed at her. Instead, it seemed to be focused on the door to her room.

Frisk felt a chill run through her. The monster's behaviour had been random lately and she could blame this on the fact that it probably needed to be recalibrated, but she wasn’t really that sure anymore. Oval-eyed monsters were often used as guards and with the recent happenings, she was starting to wonder if maybe there was a different reason for the skeleton’s actions.

Already uncomfortable, Frisk scolded herself. There wasn’t any point in scaring herself. It was far to easy to go down the rabbit hole of scary thoughts. Suddenly you would become afraid of the dark and lock your windows at night. She couldn’t afford to think like that, her thoughts were negative enough without the addition of constant fear.

The skeleton was still staring at her door, but Frisk willed herself to ignore the monster’s behaviour. She had left the notebook in her room and she was more than curious to see just what Carell was hiding. He had asked her to burn it in the letter, but she was determined to find out just what was going on. The people he had mentioned as his potential murderers were her friends. They were his friends.

Walking up the stairs back to her room, Frisk couldn’t help but look back at the monster following her. Two steps behind and eyes once more focused on her. It was its normal behaviour but, with everything that had happened, it almost seemed abnormal.

Frisk approached her closed door and was ready to open it when she realized one key detail that she had missed. One little detail that had slipped her mind. Something that she hadn’t noticed, distracted by so many things.

She had never closed the door to her room.

Frisk sat on her couch, nursing a fresh cup of coffee. It was six in the morning and Frisk had spent another night on her couch, staring out of her window. She hadn’t even tried to fall asleep. Even if she wanted to she wouldn’t be able to. The mixture of fear and adrenaline—plus a whole pot of coffee—kept her alert through the night, causing her to jump at every creak.

Any logical person would have called the police or left the house to stay at a friend's. But Frisk was to wrapped up in things to be logical. If she called the police they would find Carell’s letter and then she would never know what really happened. Going to a friend’s was also not an option, the only person who could probably let her stay the night and not alert the authorities was Freddy, but she could be a murderer. Although Frisk was certain that the counsellor wasn’t capable of murder with all the things that had happened, she didn’t want to do anything risky.

Yet, somehow staying in a house, that may or may not have an intruder in it, that may or may it be a murderer, kind of felt like a greater risk. She was sure of the fact that she had left the door open. Sometimes doors could slam shut because of an open window, but her window was supposed to be closed and the knocking couldn’t have masked the sound of a door being slammed.

So Frisk had spent the night drinking coffee on her couch and hoping that Sans would actually protect her if something happened. The monster had stood eerily by the armrest of her couch through the whole night, the red lights casting a bloody glow onto the couch. The monster's presence had probably caused her just as much fear as the potential of an intruder.

Or at least at first, it did. She had been sitting in the dark so, when somewhere near two the red glow disappeared she quickly noticed. The pinpricks of light that had been following her ever since Hods brought the damned thing into her house were gone. It was like the monster fell asleep. It was most likely a function that was added to conserve battery life, but there was something…calming about it. Seeing something that seemed to never tire rest somehow made it less threatening in her eyes.

Sans’ lights hadn’t returned and Frisk was starting to wonder if maybe something in the monster broke. Her grandfather had always said that monsters were unexplainably weak sometimes. But he was also the man who would make her read manuals on monsters and not let her go outside until she finished at the age of eight. Even if at times he was right, she would never draw a conclusion based off of his past preachings.

_There I go again, thinking about useless things that don’t matter._ It was a waste of time, there wasn’t any point to remembering things from back then. All it did was upset her, she had more important things on her mind that deserved more attention. She had made a pretty good list of questions that she needed to investigate already, but she still needed to find a way to investigate them. Sadly, there were far too many questions and she had ended up falling down the rabbit hole. Most of the night was spent sending her train of thought in circles as she questioned everything.

The only certain thing was that she needed to take a look into Carell’s notebook. Her main question was what the club was working on. Carell had spent so much time to at the library, he and the other members must have been working on something. And whatever it was it must have been important.

The feeling of eyes watching her was back and sure enough, Sans’ lights were once more focused on her. Frisk took that as her sign to get up. As much as she hated to admit it, monsters did have a reputation of being good security and at the moment, that was what she needed.

“Well, I guess it’s time for us to check my room. Hopefully whoever broke in is gone by now,” Frisk knew that she was talking to the air but twenty-four hours of being continuously awake were starting to get to her. Freddy had a degree in Psychology and had worked as a psychiatrist, she talked to monsters. So there wasn’t anything wrong with it really. Sometimes it was nice to just talk, even if you don’t have anyone to have a conversation with.

Frisk stood up from the couch and went to the kitchen to wash her cup. Sans followed but, Frisk was too tired to care. She had once read that sleep deprivation could cause people to act on habits instead of thinking about their actions. Having not slept a full seven hours of sleep in a long time, Frisk was starting to understand what the article meant.

After always waking up with someone else in the house she had gotten in the habit of doing everything double. So her sleep-deprived mind had made her reach over for a cup that wasn’t there when she was washing hers. Her sleep-deprived mind made her put four pieces of bread into the toaster instead of two. And her sleep-deprived mind almost made her forget about the fact that she needed to check her room.

But thankfully she remembered. Although she had a suspicion that subconsciously she had wanted to forget. With every step up the stairs, she became more and more hesitant. It felt like she was overreacting but at the same time like she wasn’t taking this situation seriously enough.

“If anything happens I’ll at least know if I was right or wrong. I hope I was wrong since that would mean that you would actually protect me if anything happened,” The young woman looked back at the skeleton. Holding onto the doorknob she thought of the best approach.

The door opened inwards so she could just turn the doorknob, push the door and then step to the side. That would mean that if an attacker was waiting for her on the other side, they wouldn’t be able to ambush her. Or she could try and peek into the room the same way she had peeked outside when the knocking at her door had suddenly subsided. _Or I could just open the door and stop being a sissy._

Frisk went with her first idea. She opened the door, stepped aside and…nothing happened. She waited for a bit but still, nothing happened. Slowly Frisk peeked into the room. There was no one inside.

“That was stupid,” Frisk stepped into the room and took a good look around. At first, she didn’t really notice anything off and for a moment she even considered this all being a big misunderstanding that she had made up. But the moment didn’t last.

The light pink curtains that covered her window fluttered and in the place where she had left the small safe was nothing.

It's Papyrus and two quick apologetic sketches since this is overdue! (If the image doesn't look right here's the link: <https://kimchilovinggenie.tumblr.com/>

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Sleep deprivation also had many other effects. One of them is bad short term memory. On day eleven with no sleep Randy Gardner was asked to continuously subtract 7 from 100 but one he reached 64 he had forgotten what he was doing. 
> 
> I don't know what else to write here...
> 
> Have a good day/night!


	8. What Makes Entries From His Notebook So Important

It was still there. Her spur of the moment action of shoving the notebook under her bed had kept her only lead from being stolen. If Frisk had put it back into the safe, it would be gone.

Someone had actually broken in. Someone had been in her house. She should really call the police.

_Jesus, if I hadn’t realized that I never closed the door I could have been killed._ The notebook was the only thing that had been in the safe. So unless this was one very coincidently timed robbery, the intruder had been after Carell’s notes. This had to be related to the murder.

It made a lot of sense to call the police. But if she did that the notebook would be confiscated as evidence, she’ll lose her main lead to the truth. She really needed to check out the contents of the book.

Taking the book out from underneath her bed Frisk once more thanked her instinct for forcing her to hide the notebook. She took a seat on the bed and got ready to see just what her late husband had been hiding. But...she was overtaken by hesitation. Deep down in her soul, it felt like she was betraying Carell. They may have been married, but they always respected each other’s privacy. He had never questioned her fear of monsters and she never asked about his family. It felt wrong, but she had to do it.

She opened the book and turned to the first page. A small slip of paper fell out and when Frisk picked it up she was extremely confused.

_X tdo oid Farp aeo. Oid Rxqvo xp bqowixvr qvf oid maasuqv txdp_

“What the hell is this?” Frisk decided not to dwell on it since it looked like someone had just button mashed on a keyboard and just put the slip back into the notebook. There was nothing else on the first page so she turned it. Thus far her journey through Carell’s notebook hadn’t been too extreme.

On the next page, there was a single paragraph written in Carell’s handwriting. It seemed to be a recalling of one of their library meetings, a sort of diary entry.

_Freddy and Horace had gotten into another argument during our meeting. She had opposed his idea of becoming more active and gathering more members. Horace believes that trying to recreate the device is a waste of time and that sitting-quiet isn’t going to help us. I don’t know who’s right, but the others have started picking sides. If this keeps up our little club could be in trouble. Freddy seems to be hiding something and Horace is being impulsive._

_I still have no clue about who started this club._

_June 27th_

This entry was from two months ago and it seemed like he hadn’t suspected anything back then. There was nothing about a traitor, only his concerns over a conflict happening between Horace and Freddy. Frisk had a feeling that this was something very significant and took note of this. Could someone have betrayed the group because of this argument?

Another thing that bothered her was the last sentence. One of the six members had started the club but wasn’t revealing themselves. Something about this angered her. The person who had started the club had made sure to not reveal themselves because they probably knew that what they were doing was dangerous yet they didn’t warn anyone. For all, she knew the murderer might have thought that Carell was the one who had started the club and that was why he had been killed.

And what was _“the device”_ that Freddy wanted to make and Horace considered a waste of time? As far as she knew out of all of the six-member Carell had listed in his letter, he was the only one who had any experience with engineering. Was that another possible motive?

On the next page was another entry describing what had happened during a different meeting. It was mostly focused on the behaviour of the other members and didn’t seem to mention anything about what the group was working on other than a few mentions of “ _The device.”_

The group had split into two halves, one agreed with Freddy and the other with Horace. Freddy seemed to believe in laying low while Horace was trying to push them to become more active. As Frisk read more and more of the entries it became clear that Carell was leaning towards Horace’s side and that Freddy was losing the argument. By mid-July the only one on her side was Hods. It was also becoming clear to Frisk that the group had been doing something that may have been less the legal. One of the main arguments that Freddy and Hods were pushing was that they would lose their only advantage if the police found out. The idea of her husband being a part of something illegal was a bizarre one.

There were also mentions of the “Soul Theory” peppered in with the recallings. Carell seemed to be fascinated with the idea of souls and even made links between the theory and the device that the group had been working on. But that was the only information that was somehow related to the device. The other mentions of the mysterious object updates on its completion status or pondering on why Freddy believed it to be so important. From what she had read, it looked like Freddy was practically obsessed with the thing.

As Frisk read more and more of the entries it became clear to her that their club was falling apart. What was interesting was that Carell kept mentioning the novelty of the situation. It was like they had never gotten into any big arguments before.

The mention of a possible traitor finally appeared in an entry made just two weeks before his murder. The entry recalled him finding pieces for the device missing and him suspecting that one of the other members took it. The paragraph described how everyone had denied it but Freddy. She had cursed and left the library in a huff. The last sentence of that entry pondered if maybe Freddy knew more than the others.

From that point, everything seemed to go downhill. Carell became more and more wary of the others. The arguments between Freddy and Horace became more heated and one entry described how Hods and Paloma had to pull the two of them apart because things were getting physical. Freddy had also started skipped meetings and Horace was taking control of the situation. Carell seemed to become more and more frustrated with the others. He had never liked conflict and would always get annoyed if things became too heated.

Then an entry from a week before his murder celebrated the completion of the device. This one was different from the others, it was written before one of their meetings. It was just a few sentences long and explained how he thought that the device would put an end to their inner fighting. He seemed so sure of it.

But the next entry was written after that meeting and as Frisk read it she recalled that Carell had been upset on that day. She hadn’t known about all of this back then and thought that something happened at his workplace. She didn’t know that the device, something that he must have been working on for months, had failed. The entry was the shortest yet, he had even forgotten to write the date.

_The device didn’t work. Freddy cleaned up the dust and had remained silent for the rest of the meeting. Horace gloated and she left without a word. I don’t know what went wrong, the device is identical to what the blueprints described._

She felt so bad for Freddy. From what she had gathered from the entries the ex-psychiatrist had viewed the device’s completion as the main goal for their club. Frisk knew what it felt like to not reach your goal when it’s right in front of you. A mix of dread and anger that sat in the pit of your stomach and wouldn’t leave.

But the entry had left her even more confused than before. What did _“cleaned up the dust”_ mean? She still had no idea what the device was meant to do.

The next few entries were written days before Carell’s death. A big part of them was him trying to figure out what was wrong with the device but he would also mention things he found suspicions. He seemed to be closing in on the traitor’s identity, but he hadn’t written any details that may have incriminated one of the members.

However, he never found out the identity of the treacherous club member. The last entry in the notebook was written on the day of his death. It was before the meeting and the words written were dripping with worry.

_Freddy called me and said that she was no longer a member of the club. She told me to tell the others since she would not be coming to the meeting. Her voice sounded distraught and now that I think about it ever since the device failed she had been acting strange. Maybe I should ask Frisk to check on her tomorrow. Horace also called and asked me to bring that device to the meeting. He was so against it that I’m afraid that he might be planning to do something foolish. The coded message I got from the supposed club master said that Horace is lying. Although that’s only if I assume that he's the bookman. This is all worrying, I need to not forget to leave the letter for Frisk at the door out of my office. I just hope that she never gets involved in this ordeal. I hope Freddy keeps her promise._

_August 18_

The entry seemed to mention the slip of paper with the random letters. Maybe she could use this to decode the slip later but at the moment something else stuck out to her as important. If Freddy had quit the club and never went to the meeting, how did she get Carell’s key?

The girl just sat on the bed reading over her husband’s notes. She seemed to have forgotten about the world around her completely immersed.

All he could say on the matter was that her husband was a fucking idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is long over due and I feel so bad for not doing this before but please check out:  
> https://bis-cvit.tumblr.com/post/186825421880/i-drew-a-little-something-inspired-by-the 
> 
> Biscvit had drawn some amazing fanart that perfectly portrays the scene when Hods visits Frisk with Sans. It's amazing and I can't believe that I forgot to mention it before now. I'm so sorry Biscvit... ;_;
> 
> Oh and the random letters is actually a coded message. It's a cryptogram which means that letters represent other letters. (That doesn't make much sense but I don't how else to describe it)
> 
> Anyways...Have a good day/night...


	9. What She Really Wants

After exploring Carell’s notebook Frisk was left with two options. One was to try and decode the slip of paper and the other was to go and find one of the club members to confront. One was easy, yet risky, while the other was hard but safe. 

“What the hell am I supposed to do from here!?” Frisk exclaimed, frustrated as she cradled her head in her hands. She wasn’t good with cryptograms and this code seemed to work like that. So it would probably be easier to just pay one of the club members a visit. But if she were to confront one of them, who? 

Horace and Freddy probably knew the most about the situation, but they seemed to have the most motive when it came to the murder. Paloma and Emily hadn’t been mentioned in the entries often so they could know less than the other two yet, they seemed safer. Although they could just be silent killers that are very good at hiding their true nature. Not to mention the fact that Paloma and Horace were a couple, so if she talked to one the other would surely know. 

This meant that if she wanted to keep this between as few people as possible, she had to go to either Emily or Freddy. But Frisk had literally visited Freddy yesterday. If she confronted the counselor, she would have to go in with a blunt approach right off the bat since Freddy would already know that something was wrong. So between the two, Emily seemed to be the most viable option. She may be a very passive, patient and quiet person, but those are usually the type that know things that others don’t.

Frisk grabbed her phone and found Emily’s contact. It had been a while since she had talked with her previous classmate, she prepared herself for an awkward conversation. 

“Hello? Frisk?” The phone had only rung for a second before she accepted the call. The woman’s voice was as quiet as Frisk remembered. 

“Hey, Emily, sorry about the bother but I was just wondering how you’re doing and if we could meet up for a cup of coffee.” The calming atmosphere of a café would hopefully ease some of the discomforts. 

“Oh! Well, thank you, I’m doing fine. And as for the coffee, I’m free tomorrow. But what is this about?” Emily seemed surprised like she was expecting her to say something else. She definitely knew something.

“I just want to talk about somethings. It’s tiring to be in an empty home, it’s lonely…really lonely.” That cover story wasn’t the best but still kind of buyable. And she wasn’t really lying that much. It is tiring to live alone, but recently she hasn’t been feeling lonely. That feeling was replaced by the far more unpleasant one of fear.

“Oh, I see… Well then, let’s meet tomorrow at twelve, in that little coffee shop near Main Street. It’s been a while since I've been there and that used to be our usual meet up spot.”

“That sounds perfect! Thanks, Emily.”

“You're very welcome. See you tomorrow!” Frisk could hear Emily’s smile.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” Ending the call, Frisk let out a deep sigh. She could already feel the anxiety set in.

The club had been made up of only six members and there was never a mention of anyone else BUT those six people in Carell’s notebook. This meant that it was most likely that the club was very close-knit and kept their secrets only between them. _So it’s going to be a giant pain to get anything out of Emily tomorrow. Goddammit._

“Hey, Sans you used to stand in the police station’s interrogation room. Got any strategies?” The usual staring was all that she got from the monster. It hadn’t done anything strange since the morning and Frisk was starting to wonder if maybe something triggered the skeleton to react the way that it had. But that wouldn't really make sense. She remembered hearing stories about how monsters would act in a manner that wasn’t expected and the owners would take them to be recalibrated at the first incident. After that, the monster wouldn’t do anything of the sort for years.

The whole recalibration thing reminded her of when she had first found out about what happens to people who are proved guilty of a crime. The population believed that they were sent to prison and served a sentence there but, that wasn’t really the truth. Criminals, no matter how big their crime, were sentenced to work the jobs that no one else would ever work willingly. Major corporations would make deals with the city and receive a cheap workforce that couldn't complain. In a way, this was better than prison. It was a way to truly redeem yourself. You help the city’s economy and tax payer's money didn’t have to go towards maintaining any prisons. But Frisk didn’t like it. The reason was how she found this out.

It had given her a bit of a fright to see a man that she had spoken against in court walking the streets. It had been a case of petty theft, but her teachers always said that a person who steals someone's property is more than capable of stealing someone's life. So when the man noticed her she wasn’t expecting HIM to be afraid of her.

The man had paled and deliberately crossed the road. It had surprised her to the point that she asked some of her older colleagues. They were the ones who explained the whole system to her. She never forgot how they described it. “A system that will ensure that anyone who has crossed the line will next time stay in its perimeters.” Like the recalibration system with monsters. If a monster strayed out of line, they were recalibrated and then wouldn’t do it again. 

“Well great! Now I’ve ensured that I will never get you recalibrated. Lucky you! God, why did they have to make you so alive?” When she was a kid, she would often mistake the backs of monsters for people. Back then it was just a bit embarrassing. But now, after everything she had seen, the similarity freaked her out. It gave her chills.

“Maybe I should do what Freddy does? I can’t use commands anyways and if I just imagined you as a person and not as a monster you wouldn’t be so frightening,” She didn’t know who she was talking to. It could be herself, Sans or just the air. All three would make her look crazy if someone was watching.

“It would be like having a roommate again. Although, unlike Freddy, you probably won’t steal all the instant coffee,” What was she doing? Had she really come to the point where she passed her time by talking to a monster? “Actually, you don’t have to eat anything, do you? Just pop in a battery and you have enough energy for three months. Sounds useful, but also very bland.” She had better things to do than just sitting around on her bed and talk to a mechanically made skeleton that had been giving her mini heart attacks for the last couple of weeks. She still had to figure out the code.

“I wonder what kind of person you would be if you were alive. Freddy said that each monster seemed to show hints of behaviour that are like an addition to your core functions, but you haven’t really displayed anything like that,” Ignoring all her thoughts Frisk kept talking. Glancing up at Sans she thought over her own words. “Or have you…?” He had helped her find the loose plank and he seemed to have realized that something was wrong when he had stared at the closed door to her room. Could Sans just have more receptors than the other monsters? Was he that smart?

“Did you find the safe on purpose? Or was it just a lucky accident?” Frisk stared at the red pinpricks of lights as if she was awaiting an answer. But as was expected she didn’t get one. “What the hell am I doing? I have a message to decode and I need to make up a more concrete plan of action. If I really want to solve any mystery I need to start working, not sitting around and talking to a monster all day.” 

With a sigh, Frisk got off of her bed and retrieved the notebook from underneath it. It wasn’t a very good hiding place but hopefully, miracles can happen twice. The slip of paper was still tucked in on the first page so she had no problem finding it.

_X tdo oid Farp aeo. Oid Rxqvo xp bqowixvr qvf oid maasuqv txdp_

The jumble of letters seemed as confusing as before. Just looking at it gave Frisk a headache. She really hoped that her determination could pull her through this one. 

_Alright, so I know that one of the words might be bookman since Carell referred to it in the notebook. I should probably also find the most common three-letter words since it’s most likely “the.”_ There wasn’t really any paper or pencil around so Frisk pulled up a note-taking app on her phone. Her current strategy seemed to be working. Although still illegible it didn’t look impossible.

_X tdo_ **_the_ ** _Farp aeo._ **_The_ ** _Rxqvo xp bqowixvr gvf_ **_the_ ** **_bookman_ ** _txdp_

There was only one set of letters that had two of the same letters right beside each other, so she had identified the word as “bookman.” There was also the matter of the one-letter word at the beginning of the message. It was probably either an “I” or an “A” but, she already knew that “A” was “Q” from the bookman part. So it was best to assume that “X” was equal to “I.” This wasn’t as hard as she had thought…

The deciphered message was confusing, Frisk had no idea what it meant. It had seemed like she was doing the right thing, but now she was wondering if all her assumptions were wrong, if she had gone completely off course with this. She hoped that she didn’t have to restart. Again.

**_I let the Dogs out. The Giant is watching and the bookman lies_ **

The two capitalized words probably had different meanings than normal, heck, the whole message probably had a very different meaning than Frisk thought. The only clear thing was that the bookman was probably Horace and that he was hiding something. Frisk couldn’t think of anything else that “lies” could mean.

But she had no idea what “I let the Dogs out” and “The Giant is watching” meant. When she'd first completely decoded the slip of paper the two chilling statements on Carell’s letter popped into her mind. “They are listening” and “The Giant is watching” could be related, both pointing toward someone catching on to whatever the group was doing. Did the police figure them out?

“That was tiring. Well, at least now that this is done I can think of a plan of action,” It was almost time for dinner and Frisk started down the stairs to get herself something to eat. “Confronting Freddy will probably be my main goal, but I need to also find out as much as I can from Emily tomorrow. I can’t believe I’m going to have to practically blackmail Freddy into telling me what’s up. Who would have thought that all of this was happening behind my back? I guess it’s proof of my stupidity…” Since when did she get in the habit of thinking out loud? Although it didn’t really matter. No one was around to really hear her ramble, she wasn’t bothering anyone.

Turning around she found what she was expecting. Sans was standing just five steps behind her, staring. Still as creepy as can be but she was a tad bit too tired to care. “I wonder if you would be annoyed with me? Actually, if all you monsters were alive you would probably hate us, humans, huh? We’re practically setting ourselves up for an apocalypse where our technology takes over the world and kills us all. Oh yeah, I didn’t buy the groceries. Well, guess I’m ordering dinner.”

It was surprisingly easy to just think out loud. Any normal person would probably hesitate but for some reason, it was as easy—if not easier—as talking to someone. It was most likely because she was used to having someone always in the house with her, someone always there to listen. This was her home, a place where she didn’t need to filter the things she said. 

But there was no one to listen to her right now. She was talking to no one. To nothing. It was _pathetic_. 

“Can I order a pepperoni pizza? Yes, as soon as possible. Thank you,” Frisk put down her phone on the counter and once more took a moment to study Sans. The skeleton stood straight, stiff as a stick, unmoving. The red lights that shown through the dark ovals of its mask were—like always—focused on her. 

There was nothing that gave any signs of the monster being alive. No sign of breathing, no unnecessary movements, no signs of life to be found. So the feeling of being watched and her empathy toward Sans didn’t make sense. The monster was quite a mystery. A mystery that found the worst possible time to be shoved into her life. 

“You’re not alive, just a walking tool…” The statement should have reassured her that the monster was safe. But that wasn’t what she really wanted. “That’s a shame.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...it’s been a while. Sorry about the lack of update last week, school started for me so, yeah. Also because of this I can’t guarantee any consistency when it comes to updates. (my math teacher’s really tearin’ into us) I’m sorry about that but I’ll try my best! 
> 
> Anyways, have a good day/night!


	10. What Coffee Leads Up To

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry...

Entering the café, Frisk immediately spotted Emily waiting for her at one of the tables. The girl’s blonde, almost white, hair and palish complex combined with her small patient smile gave her a natural glow. She looked like the most harmless person alive. Although that image was somewhat ruined by her “company.” Her companion was probably one of the main reasons she stuck out so much and not in the best way.

Calling Frisk “surprised” would be an understatement. Standing behind Emily was Papyrus, Freddy’s skeleton. It was still wearing the ridiculous outfit that the children at Freddy’s school had made and the two eyebrows that the counsellor herself had drawn were still clearly visible. Those two things combined with its height and the contrast between Emily and the monster made the pair stick out like a sore thumb. The difference between the two would have been comical if not for how terrifying Papyrus was. 

All the other monsters in the café were either square or triangle-eyed, which meant that they were harmless. They were all small monsters and would just stay by there owners, sometimes doing the small tasks given to them. The tall skeleton dwarfed everyone. The closest comparison she could make to describe the scene was seeing a tank roll down a highway surrounded by mini-coppers. 

“Frisk! I hope you don’t mind my not so little friend,” Frisk had made it to Emily’s table and took a seat in the other chair. The moment she did a whimsun-model monster flew up to her with a small notepad. The little things were often used as a way to gather orders in the small businesses that didn’t have the budget to afford hiring waiters. They were cheaper but not as welcoming, which made some of the more picky customers reject shops that used the winged monsters. But in Frisk’s case, it was a whole other story.

“A decaf and a cappuccino please,” Emily noticed Frisk’s discomfort and ordered for the two of them. If she were asked for her order Frisk would have been fine. But she wasn't. 

“Thanks, you’re a life-saver.”

“No problem, I’m just happy to see you again, it’s been a while,” The blue-eyed girl was as sweet as ever. Frisk felt the dread setting in her stomach as she remembered what the point of their meet up was. It felt wrong.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Things got busy and I haven’t really been able to keep in touch,” Although that was the truth it still felt like an excuse. Her guilt grew.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m just as guilty as you when it comes to forgetting to keep in touch. And you were the one who organized this meet up so don’t beat yourself up.”

“Heh, well anyways, anything interesting happened to you recently?” The question sounded weak and uncertain when Frisk said it. Where was her determination when she needed it? 

Emily’s smile turned sad as she let out a sigh. “I know what you’re up too. Frisk, I’m sorry. I can’t tell you about the club.” 

At first, it surprised Frisk that Emily knew what her intentions were but then she remembered Freddy. The redhead must have known that Frisk would try to investigate, she probably warned the others. But if that was the case, wouldn’t it have been easier for Emily to just reject the offer of a meetup?

“It’s fine. I had a feeling you wouldn’t tell me. But that aside how have things been?” It was disheartening, but Frisk hadn't given up. Nobody said that it would be easy to get Emily to spill the beans. And anyway, just because her main reason for meeting up with Emily was extracting information didn't main that she couldn't just enjoy the company.

“I’m not naïve, you haven’t let this go,” Letting out another sigh Emily continued. “Things have been busy. I’ve had trouble finding a job ever since the club was  ** disbanded. ** ” She put a lot of emphasis on the word disbanded. Was saying that her attempt to give Frisk a reason to leave it? Disbanded or not the club was still one of the biggest puzzle pieces in Carell’s murder. If she figured out where it fits then it would make finding the murderer and their motive a lot easier, or at least she hoped that it would.

“Did the club pay its members?” It was also a big mistake since it allowed Frisk to ask questions that Emily probably wanted to avoid.

“No, I used to work at Paloma’s and Horace’s book shop. But when the club was disbanded they fired me.”

“Why would they fire you because of that?” There was something very petty about firing someone just because they were no longer in the same club as you. Neither Horace or Paloma seemed like petty people.

“There was a big argument and things got really complicated. The rest I can’t tell you,” There wasn’t even a hint of frustration or annoyance in Emily’s voice. She hadn’t made any real attempt to get away from the topic of the club but she also hadn’t said anything that could benefit Frisk in any way. It felt like the two of them were playing a very complicated game of chess.

“You know that you can trust me, right?” Frisk needed to learn more about the club before she confronted Freddy. What she knew wasn’t enough and Freddy would easily catch on if she tried to bluff. She felt bad, but she had to try and get through her friend's defence. Even if it meant doing it the dirty way.

“Of course I do, but this is for your own sake,” Emily remained calm and patient. She was always patient.

“I just want to know why someone would want to hurt him. Carell was so sweet and caring, he didn’t have any enemies,” The blonde’s expression didn’t change, it remained a small, sad smile.

“We always look around us for answers so we miss those that are right under our nose. That’s the only clue I’m giving you. The rest you're going to have to figure out yourself.”

“Oh come on! Why do you always have to make everything so cryptic? It’s like English 10 all over again!” Frisk enjoyed reading, don’t get her wrong, but it always felt like whenever they read and dissected a book for their English class it was ruined. Emily, on the other hand, loved finding hidden meanings and making up her own little poems. No wonder Horace and Paloma hired her to work at the bookstore. Although they did also fire her so maybe there were other reasons behind it.

“Sorry about that. But Frisk, please don’t be reckless. It looks like you know some details that might help the police if you submitted them. It’s probably not really my place, but I suggest you leave this be and just tell the police about the club,” Emily said, but it didn’t make any sense. Her telling the police about the club would incriminate her. And why couldn’t she tell the police?

“Why don’t you do that?” 

“Because I know the truth and if I tell the police I would know exactly what I’m doing. It sounds bad but if I were to notify the police I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. If you told the police you would be ignorant. I know it’s cowardly, but I can’t really do anything about it,” It took Frisk a moment to understand just what Emily was saying.  _ “Ignorance is bliss so, enjoy it and leave things as are.” _

“So you suggest I just deal with the fact that I’ll never know why my husband was killed. For all I know you and everyone else, including Carell, were running some sort of underground gang and he was killed because he was a well known criminal or something.”

“Frisk, both you and I know that that’s ridicu—”

“But with everything I learned so far it doesn’t seem to far fetched!” The guilt had now grown to a gigantic size. She had snapped at her friend who, for all she knew, was just trying to protect her. This whole situation was getting out of hand and she was gradually becoming an asshole.

A movement in the corner of Frisk’s eye caught her attention and made her turn around. She had barely noticed where Sans had positioned himself before, but now she realized that he mirrored Papyrus’ stance. The skeleton was standing behind her and now that she had noticed Frisk was starting to feel oppressed by just how close the monster was standing to her. It felt like someone was looking over her shoulder. 

“Oh, the little guy must have brought us our coffee and we didn’t notice,” Emily’s remark made Frisk notice the paper cup in Sans’ hand. For how long had the monster been holding her coffee? “Thanks, Papyrus,” The taller skeleton placed the blonde’s coffee onto the table once Emily noticed the coffee. Sans followed suit and Frisk felt her nerves shoot up as a skeletal hand reached out from behind her to place down her cappuccino in front of her.

“Th-Thanks?” Following her friend’s example, Frisk thanked the monster. It almost felt right but still extremely uncomfortable.

“They're really helpful, huh?” Emily’s smile seemed to lose its sad tone as she sipped her coffee. Frisk had no idea how she could stand decaf, the stuff was disgusting. 

“Actually, that made me remember, why do you have Freddy’s monster?” She had been meaning to ask her that since the moment she saw Papyrus but she got a tad bit carried away. It also helped steer the conversation from a very uncomfortable place.

“How did you know this was Freddy’s monster?”

“I saw it in her portable the last time I visited her.” Frisk was not looking forward to the next time she visited her.

“The kids were starting to act up and Freddy decided to be on the cautious side of things. She asked me if I needed a monster and when I said yes she dropped Papyrus off at my house,” There was something wrong with that answer but Frisk couldn’t put her finger on it. 

“I thought the kids liked Papyrus.” Before Emily could answer, her phone rang and she quickly pulled it out of her pocket. 

Wincing an apology and mouthing the words “job offer” Emily stood up and headed for the door. Papyrus did not follow which meant that Frisk was left sitting alone at a table surrounded by skeletons with glowing red eyes and expressionless masked faces. It was uncomfortable, to say the least.

But there was a plus to it, she got to maul over everything that Emily had said and maybe think of a different approach. Although Emily was practically made of rubber when it came to dealing with people—you could stretch her, punch her, kick her and she would just snap back without a mark—there must be a way to get her to spill the beans. Freddy always said that everyone has an approach to them, that all you had to do was find it. 

Suddenly the atmosphere around Frisk felt like it got heavier. It felt like she was in the middle of a family dispute. She looked around to make sure that that wasn’t the real situation. But there was no one around who seemed to be arguing or even looked angry. The only thing she noticed was that the two monsters at her table were both just staring at each other. It felt nice to be rid of Sans’ constant surveillance, but Frisk couldn’t help but notice the way the two monsters looked at that moment. It really did feel like she was in the middle of an argument. She didn’t know what gave her that impression, but there was just something about the way the two of them stood… It made her feel like she needed to say something.

“I guess I’m stuck with the two of you, huh?” She made sure to keep her voice low so nobody around them could hear it. She didn’t need to attract any more attention. That department was covered by the fact that she was sitting alone with two skeletons in a small coffee shop.

The moment she spoke four red dots of lights shifted to her. She immediately regretted her decision. It really felt like they were glaring at her for interrupting them.  _ Again, I knew that monsters could seem alive but not this alive. Emily said that the answer could be right under my nose, could she hav— _

“SOMEBODY HELP!!!” A distressed man ran into the shop screaming. All of the patrons shot up in their chairs panicked and confused. “Doctor! We need a doctor!!” The man kept repeating.

People started rushing out of the café and grabbing for their phones as they realized what was happening. Someone needed a doctor, someone was hurt. 

A sickening feeling settled in the pit of Frisk’s stomach. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I'm so sorry. I had finished this chapter a week ago but I couldn't get around to proofreading it. Uuuuuhhhh I'm so sorry!!! 
> 
> On a different note(heh), Emily's opinion was kind of influenced by Iris's comment on my last chapter. I fully agree that Frisk is being stupid. If any one has any questions please ask it feels like I've been rushing this chapters. 
> 
> But hopefully the next chapter won't take as long to post. (again sorry) 
> 
> Anyways, have a good day/night...


	11. What Makes Visits To the Hospital Troubling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIVE!!!!!!!!

“You know, I should even be talking to you right now. You lied about so many things and now this! It’s like you don’t care at all,” Sans was standing behind her as per usual, but something was different about the monster. Frisk couldn’t tell if it was a good different or bad but to her, it really didn’t matter, not at the moment. “What if the knife hadn’t missed? Why did you act like such an idiot?” Continuing her scolding, Frisk did her best to ignore the look that her friend was giving her. She needed to be tough and unmoving, determined.

“I have reasons for doing what I did, and I am in no way obligated to share them with you.” Even voice, not a hint of fear or anger. 

“How can you be so calm!? Why are you acting like this is an everyday occurrence for you!?” This wasn’t right, but at the same time, it was so like her to be like this. Frisk knew her friend, she should have been prepared for this when she first stepped into the room. But she wasn’t. And everything was slowly, but steadily, spinning out of control.

“Frisk go home. Both of us know you’re wasting your time.” Not even a quiver.

_Wasting my time? Wasting my time! I’ve sat for an hour waiting for you to wake up, begging whatever powerful deity that was listening that you would live, only for you to tell me that I’m wasting my time? No, I’m done._ The rage that had started as nothing more than a spark had quickly manifested into a forest fire. 

“What the **hell** is wrong with you Freddy!?” 

As much as Frisk wanted to rush out of the small building, she was forced to stay inside of the café. The owners had received a warning from the police about a potentially dangerous individual on the loose and had immediately declared lockdown. It was soul-wrenching.

Hearing the ambulance sirens minutes after the lockdown was declared almost made her break down the doors. Everything was so tense, no one really knew what to do or what was going on. It felt like the world was descending into chaos at unstoppable speeds. Good thing she was sitting or she probably would have collapsed, crushed by the worry hanging over her.

She was helpless in this situation. There was literally nothing that she could do. She couldn’t help Emily in any way. She was sure that something had happened to her friend. Why else would she have not returned by now? 

A loud bang and startled cries, accompanied by shouts to stop brought Frisk back to reality. She panicked, looking around her, searching for the cause of the commotion, fearing for the worst. But the first thing she noticed was the absence of one of her skeletal companions. Papyrus wasn’t there.

Papyrus was pushing and pulling with all his, _its_ , might against the locked doors of the café. Workers were running up and trying to pull the monster away from the doors while at the same time yelling for the owner. Some people turned to her, she had been sitting with the two skeletons for a while so they probably assuming that she could get the monster under control. They have no idea just how wrong they were. _How the hell am I supposed to control hi- it when I can’t even control my own monster. Even if I could use commands they won’t work! And since when did I start referring to monsters with pronouns? Humanizing them will only make things worse for me!_

The idea of somehow getting Sans to subdue the taller monster crossed her mind, but she immediately realized that it, like any other plan involving the shorter skeleton, would undoubtedly not work. It would make things so much easier if she could use commands. But something in her head just wouldn’t let her, like a barrier formed by a memory that she couldn’t remember. 

Frisk’s gaze once more shifted to the skeleton that was still standing behind her. Sans was staring, as per usual, but something about his gaze was off. It felt like the monster was expecting her to do something. It was chilling. _Jesus, even inanimate objects are judging me now. If this keeps up either Papyrus will actually break down the door or someone will take a more direct approach. Neither would be good._

With a slight, almost non-existent, jitter Frisk stood up and rushed to the ridiculously dressed skeleton. Sans followed.

It was somewhat calming, in a way now that she had the time to think about it, to have a constant in her life. With everything she had learned and realized it felt like nothing was the same. She would've maybe even been happy to have this monster as a part of her everyday life if not for the deep primal fear she felt toward him. _Goddammit, “it!” Not “him!”_

She had reached the rampaging skeleton in seconds and quickly regretted ever approaching the monster. The red lights in Papyrus’ eyes were nothing more than specks at this point, shaking glowing blood-red specks. The monster looked enraged and ready to kill. 

Acting in complete and utter primitive instinct Frisk followed the one rule that had been drilled into her head since birth. “P-P-Papyrus! I-I know you're probably worried about Emily, but I think she's going to be okay. She’s really strong.” Her parents always told her that negotiation always comes before altercation. Although in this situation she only really had one choice since the other one defiantly ended with death.

The skeleton paused and the red specks slowly turned back to their usual size. It actually worked? That was a surprise, but when Frisk looked into the monster's "eyes," something told her that he wasn’t impressed. _Why the hell am I imagining all these things? Freddy's really rubbing off on me. I hate this._

Frisk had a lot of reasons for disliking the similarity. The main one being that it was terrifying to imagine monsters as people. Deep down, she knew that her inability to use commands was somehow connected to this idea. There was something in her, something that saw monsters as people. That was probably why she was so unnerved by them. If they were “alive” then there’s not a doubt that they would hate humankind. The thought was extremely chilling. 

But all that didn’t really matter at the moment. Papyrus had stopped and she wasn’t dead. Somehow she'd been able to reason with the monster. Wasn't he bought at a yard sale-

That's…not right. She hadn’t used any commands but just talked the monster out of it. She could—with a great amount of skepticism—dismiss Sans somehow reacting to her words. The shorter skeleton was a government-issued model, supposedly one of the best in its line of work. If Freddy was to believe, Papyrus was sold to her at a yard sale. If Freddy were to believe…

Well, now Frisk had another topic of discussion for her next meeting with the counsellor.

“You obviously lied about buying Papyrus at a yard sale, you quit the club but somehow still came to the last meeting, you REFUSED to tell me anything to “protect me” and now your crazy enough to ignore the fact that you were almost killed instead of telling the police! You had to have seen your attacker! What. The. Hell, Freddy?! Didn't you say that you would always be by my side? Where's your support now? What happened to the kindness that you were so proud of?”

All the redhead did in reaction to Frisk’s voice was bow her head. She looked ashamed of herself, guilty. But the expression disappeared as Freddy put on an air of offence.

“Where’s my kindness? You have no right to judge me! You don't know what's going on, you're just making assumptions! Some lawyer you are,” Lashing out and trying to change the topic through argument. Freddy was the one who told Frisk about the strategy. Hearing her, someone who Frisk knew as a very straight forward person, use this strategy stung. 

“How am I supposed to know the situation if all I ever hear from you is a bunch of lies!?”

“Well, maybe YOU SHOULD JUST LEAVE IT THEN?!!”

“WELL, maybe instead of yelling and telling the person who had spent the last THREE HOURS sitting in the waiting room to give up, you could just tell this person what’s going on?!” Frisk knew with every fibre of her being that what they were doing wasn’t helping her in any way, that yelling and losing her temper wouldn’t change anything. But it felt so good to let out the anger. She was tired of crying, it made her feel too weak and vulnerable. Although she was both of those things, she knew that that’s the undeniable truth, it didn’t mean she couldn’t act like she wasn’t. 

“And if I were to tell you what’s going on, what do you think would happen? That everything will be just fine and dandy!? Frisk, if I tell you, you're next,” Freddy was trying to force herself to calm down. If this kept up, she could accidentally say something that she didn't want to.

“It doesn't matter now if you tell me or not, I'm already a target!"

The shift in the air was sudden and jarring. The moment Frisk said that the area around her seemed to cool and chills were sent through her in waves. 

“What do you mean? Frisk, what do you mean you're already a target!?”

“I’m not completely sure, but I think so. The night before Hods was killed I saw someone outside my window and I think someone might have broken into my house. There’s also the matter of Sans, he, **it** , was given to me for a reason. Government-issued monsters aren’t necessarily given out for no reason and we both know that.” The worried look on Freddy’s face slowly morphed into a smile, not the reaction Frisk was expecting. 

“Oh thank god! You had me really worried there for a second,” Frisk really hoped that her friend would at least explain this. She decided to glare at Freddy to get that point across. “Don’t give me that look, I can at least explain that much

"After Carell’s death, Emily and I realized that you were alone and that was really dangerous. We didn’t know, and still don’t, the killer's motive, but we were afraid that they would target you. So the night you saw a figure outside your window, that was me. You got paired up with the Halloween decoration because of a small note written by Emily and gracefully delivered by me to Hods’ police station. Emily actually wrote a little poem, she’s really good at that sort of thing. And as far as the break-in, that was my...unsuccessful attempt at keeping you away from Carell's notebook.”

That was something Frisk did not expect to hear. She had been fearing for her life when all that was really going on was Freddy and Emily trying to "protect" her. 

Seeing Emily standing in the front of the gathered crowd made Frisk slow down. She could practically feel the weight being lifted off of her shoulders. 

She had been so convinced that Emily was the one in trouble that she didn't even consider it being someone else. The thought of losing of losing another friend left her shaking.

But the relief was short-lasted. She had waded through the small crowd that had gathered around the scene, it was a lot easier with two monsters by her side, and had just made it to Emily when she noticed the blonde's expression. Mortified. Utterly mortified.

"Emily, what's wrong? Are you okay!?" Emily's only reply was a shaky finger pointing at the paramedics that were now pushing a pair of stretchers into the ambulance. The head of red hair that she could see on the stretchers made her heart skip a beat. 

“Are you serious?!”

“Yup, and it worked exactly as planned.”

“But-but why not just tell Hods? Or warn me? And what about the photograph? AND YOU BROKE INTO MY HOUSE!?” It really is amazing how people can jump between emotions so quickly. Freddy had gone from angry to worried to happy and then back to worried, except maybe this time it was a bit more intense. She also completely ignored Frisk's anger over her break-in.

“What photograph…?”

Frisk remembered the call clearly. The young detective had called and that was when she knew that something really foul was at play. She had almost immediately burst into tears when he told her that they suspected that the two cases had the same murderer. What pointed them to the conclusion? An old faded photograph of her, **the** old faded photograph of her. Carell had kept it with him at all times.

“They found the photograph that Carell always carried around of me on Hods’ body. It was never found on Carell so, they assumed that the killer had taken it for some reason. When they found it one Hods’ they came to two conclusions; it was the killers calling card or Hods’ had found it somewhere near my house. Do you anything about that? And could you please elaborate on the part where you broke into my house?”

“…No. Damn this is a mess… I mean I don't know anything about the photo but I can explain how I broke into your house. There was no way that I could get into your bedroom without being noticed so I had Whimsy, the W-model monster I owned, fly through your window.”

“Okay, now I know to shut my windows.” 

“Hey! It’s for your own good and anyway, it looks like you get along with him quite well. You even almost called him “he.” I thought that you hated personifying monsters?”

“I don’t know anymore…" Frisk did not want to talk about whatever was happening with that. It would also get them off-topic, which was probably what Freddy was aiming for.

“Alright, what will it take for you to leave me alone and also call Emily to tell her to visit me?” The redhead was probably doing this out of pity, Frisk did not expect Freddy to offer compromise after everything. Although she also looked really tired. Frisk felt slightly guilty. 

“I’m guessing you’ll probably refuse to tell me what your club is about, was about, so can you at least tell me why you're so desperately trying to keep me away from the club,” Carell mentioned a promise in his entries so Frisk had her suspicions. However, Freddy seemed to have a big role in the whole affair. The problem was that after working with children for the last four years, Freddy had developed the resilience of a titanium wall.

Although it looked like even her tolerance reserves were drying.

Freddy shrugged. “I made a promise. It’s as simple as that. Carell made me promise to not tell you a thing about the club and now I’m doing my best to keep it.” That brought up one very important question that Frisk hoped, with all her heart, that Freddy would answer. 

“If you didn't make that promise, would you have told me?”

“Yeah,” Freddy sighed, the look on her face suddenly turned very serious. “If I hadn't made that promise you would be part of our club. But if I were to do that Carell wouldn't have been and we **needed** him. After all, I take my role as club leader very seriously.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, I've been gone for a while, huh? Sorry about that, I don't really have a good excuse for being gone (except for life but eh?) but still, sorry. But on the bright side I finally made a plan for my chapters instead of just trying to remember everything. (yay organization!) So this hopefully means that these long hiatuses (haiti?) won't happen...often. 
> 
> But on a not so other note, the next chapter might take awhile, not as long as this one but still awhile. I am trying to write a Halloween Frans one-shot and I want to make it long so it's probably going to occupy most of my free time. Hopefully I'll be able to post it on Halloween (which is terrifyingly close at this point) but that kind of depends on how much homework I get and how late I'm willing to stay up. I'm babbling at this point but am to lazy to re-write this author's note. 
> 
> But there's one last thing I have to do and that is thank you for all the comments and kudos. They kept me determined and motivated to continue writing. I read everyone of your comments even though I haven't had the time to answer them recently. Hopefully, that will change. And again thank you so much! If I could I would give all of you a giant hug!
> 
> Now anyways, have a good day/night.

**Author's Note:**

> Let's hope that I'll actually finish this story... Have a good day/night!


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